Isolation and Screening of Chilli Pepper for Fungal Contamination and Aflatoxin Production

Abstract

Improper postharvest management of red chili pepper results in the invasion of Aspergillus spp. It is the most common pathogen that infects chili resulting in the production of aflatoxin - the most potent biological toxin. The present study was aimed to study the occurrence of naturally occurring fungal pathogens in the commercially available chilli pepper in India. About twenty samples were collected from retail stores and commercial markers of Tamil Nadu, India. Isolation and purification of the naturally occurring fungal pathogens were carried out using a potato dextrose agar medium. Results showed that the samples were contaminated with Aspergillus flavus, A. parasiticus, and A. niger. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was done to morphologically confirm the pathogens. SEM analysis also showed the internal structural damage caused by the pathogens.  Followed by the isolation, all the samples that contained A. flavus were tested for aflatoxin production using the thin layer chromatography (TLC) method. It was found that a total of 16 chilli samples were tested positive for aflatoxin production. It could be seen that the tropical climatic conditions of India increased the probability of aflatoxin production in the chilli pepper.